Colombia

Bogota and Cartagena, October - December 1998

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I spent three months in Bogota, Colombia in 2001. The city is built up against a mountain ridge. Here's a nice view of the mountains towering over the houses.

Atop one the tall buildings in Bogota I looked down on this mercado de pulgas, literally flea market, which looked strange from above.

In a restaurant in Bogota where a group of musicisans were banging out some hot salsa music.

Some people I hung out with in Bogota: Cindy, Myriam and Fanny Fonseca Mesa.

You can take a teleferico or cable car to the mountaintop overlooking Bogota. The church of the Monserrate is located there. While waiting in line to descend I snapped this shot of a niņo.

The military is always present in Colombia. Everyone has a rifle it seems. You'd think this guy was guarding a bank or federal building or something. No--he's guarding a coffee shop!

I played football one Saturday with Ricardo LLoreda, my main client at Ecopetrol. Here he gave his son Ricardo a bottle of beer as a joke. But Ricardo looks thrilled.

My business took me to the port city of Cartagena. Here is a view from my hotel room at the Almirante. Nice. Within 30 minutes of strolling on the beach I was approached by a gangster offering me cocaine, marijuana, and two prosititutes. I politely declined.